I had the rare pleasure of spending some time on the phone yesterday with a student in the UK whom, for weeks, had been trying to get a hold of somebody -- anybody in the gaming industry to talk to for his term paper but (of course) couldn't get a hold of a human being. I'm hardly an industry person, but I have been known to take compromising photos with those people, so he had to settle for the likes of me. We went over a wide range of topics but one in particular keeps creeping up in the back of my head. His question -- How would you define gamer culture?
I have two points of view on the subject, and an invitation for you to join the personal Fight Club I've formed against becoming too emo.
On one hand, we have these extreme observations that we periodically post on Destructoid, usually filed under the tag "things gamers do". You know, the ones where Shamus McDougal gets the entire world map of Metroid tattooed on his ass with Mother Brain is cleverly centered on brown core. Thing is -- cosplayers, game bloggers, collectors, and the girl that went through the trouble of customizing her Warcraft CSS to perfection on MySpace only represent maybe 10% of gamers. We call those people the hardcore and you can sometimes pick them out in a crowd pretty easily. It's easy to define us as a bit quirky, I suppose. We have more fun that most, that I'm sure of.
When people discuss gamer culture, I think this is what they mean. Captain Semantics will bite you in the face on that, though. For the longevity of our species, I can safely say that Emperor Virgin (pictured below) does not represent you and me -- the average joes that represent the larger slice of gamers.
But on a grander scale, the hardcore only influence casual gamers, at best. I would be hasty to say that we represent them. The totality of the gamer install base is so much more broad. You have to factor in those mundane ESA numbers -- the largely 20-30ish year old male populace that puts in the 2-4 hours of game time a week, and so on. The man that circles around his console and pokes around online for a bit and then goes back to work and surfs the web for porn (in that order) should be counted in the dychotomy. He counts, too!
Unfortunately, when you take him into account you've got a funny looking salad. Gamer culture, in that sense, is about as distinct as "Book reader culture" and "Refrigerator repairman culture". This is probably the more accurate answer, however boring. But then again, would you even call these people "gamers" really? Where is the dividing line between eccentric freak and unconceivable hobbyist? Nowhere, I guess. If I look around the guys I hang with and the people that work on the site, I'd say that the only culture we share is that of slowly deteriorating eyeballs.
There's also the problem of calling it "culture", which can be extremely emo if volunteered in a monologue about one's sensitivities. Namely: If I ever tell you that I'm an expert on gamer culture, you should swiftly punch me in the face. All I think I know is that gamers are mostly guys with bad eyesight, and I'm not even sure of that. Also, cocks.
Anyway, poor Alex had to hear that rant take form in a mumbled rambling in between my SARS Lite (tm) coughing and wheezing. To put the issue to rest and in the best interest of maintaining my uber-healthy 3.5 hour sleeping cycles, I toss the question back at the community. Think about the archetype in and out. What does gamer culture mean to you, personally?
Contest:
1:10 AM on 01.19.2007
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Also......................................................cocks.
When you get off work and then play SSBM, Halo all night.
Going to tournaments of said games.
Spending 3 years of middle school addicted to Starcraft on B.net
PWNING.
Renting or buying the latest games to enjoy the story.
A better way to relax.
Anyways They're Observations
Don't Call It Culture.
I'm assuming you never had one in your living room for sale.
Thats it.
Nothing more, everything else can be different in each gamer.
Good post, I liked reading it :)
The popular conception of a 'gamer' is Emperor Dork up there. Both of those are stereotypes. 'Gamer culture' doesn't exist for exactly the reasons you listed above. There is no one common thread among people who play video games that ties them together. You might be able to go deeper and say that there are smaller sub-cultures within 'gamer culture' and say that there are traits shared among MMORPG players or fighting game fans. Using such a broad term like 'gamer culture' is like saying a Trekkie really likes television.
And does anyone else hate the word 'gamer?' I want to hear from all my fellow 'bookers' and 'moviers'.
I <3 gaming. Jesus Christ.
Let´s just say I know where i´m walking if I don´t wear glasses.
people who spend most of their waking free-time doing things relating to games or gaming are part of the culture, just like any other culture. even if you hate it while youre doing it, youre still part of the culture
If I had to sum up gaming culture in a few lines I'd say it's a group of people that by nature are competitive. We're a group that finds our own arenas in every disc and cartridge we can lay our hands on. We seek completion. The last puzzle, the final boss, the highest score. Mastery is the ultimate goal and if we can share the experience with others along the way it just makes it all the more memorable.
Anyhoo, I identify with what Nagiko wrote in her comment. Except for the "writing about" and "cocks" part. I don't do either of those. :P
As has been touched on by others, being a gamer to me means when you have free time you'll play video games. Not always, maybe sometimes you wanna read or go out or whatever, but likely as not, when you get home from work you just wanna pick up a controller.
If you think about games when you're not playing them, then you're a gamer. If at work you doodle character art, or you like to post on message boards, or write gaming blog, or just spend time talking with friends about what games are good and which suck you're a gamer.
I also think that you need to play more than one goddamn game. If you only ever play Counter-Strike and aren't interested in consoles or other PC games, you're a CS fan, but not a gamer. If you play 16 hours of WoW a day but have no idea who master-chief, mario or solid snake are, you're a WoW-er, but not a gamer.
2 things that don't make you a gamer
You don't need to own every console, hand-held and a tricked-out PC to be a gamer. How much money you spend on games makes no real difference, though I said above, playing a variety of games does.
You don't need to be old enough to remember the C64 or have played an original build of Tetris or whatever. 16 year old kids who grew up with the PS2 or Gamecube are gamers too. There's way too much snobbery about which games you absolutely MUST have played to be a gamer. Not everbody likes every Zelda, or Black Isle RPG or every single build of Counter Strike.
Chances are, if you're here and not too much of a fanboy tool, you're a 'gamer'.
At some point I pass out apparently.
Videogames are involved.
Also alcohol.
...
...
...
Excuse me.
I need some fresh air.
Doesn't exist.
Never has.
Or a potato, if you will.
And I will.
I find it funny that someone here says "not including France" while in fact France has one of the more healthy attitudes towards gaming. I play BO3 too and get usually get pissed off by some American dickhead that starts shouting because he can't keep up. Does the mean I hate all Americans, no off course not. Just means that this particular American gets kicked real soon.
great story!
To me, a gamer is anyone who enjoys playing games on their own right (as opposed to someone who only plays games when coerced into playing with their friends). Being a gamer, even if you're a single player RPG-only type, puts you into a part of "gaming culture". Truly, the term itself is not descriptive enough.
Do we need more labels? Do we need to define every stereotype, and put each one into their own herd? To some degree, clearly, we already have. Fanboys, the hardcore, the casual, forum trolls - there are niche cultures within the gaming culture that cannot be ignored, as all types are integral to gaming culture as a whole.
Not all of us are geeks; some are. Not all of us like blood and gore; some do. Not all of us like to wander aimlessly around a village, performing mail-delivery favors for cutesy animals; some do. Not all of us like online head-to-head battle combat simulation; some do. Despite such differences, we in the gaming culture can all identify with each other on a level that non-gamers have a hard time understanding. We appreciate things like design and story, even when the graphics aren't great; we sometimes overanalyze - a lot; we look up tips for our favorite games on the Wide, Wide World of Webs. We have favorite games, and we look forward to sequels. Above all, we have a passion for the games we love. That, to me, is what gaming culture is all about.
however, I have seen gaming become an american past-time much like cards, or golf even...
it's something I enjoy doing with my wife and kids as well as my buddies... and I've been known to take the competition to the extreme at times. But overall, it's something I like to do to entertain myself and at times I prefer this over television or going to the movies... also, cocks... so there it is...
Also, dingleberries.
I find that completely wrong. I've been a gamer my whole life, but I would never consider myself very competitive. Unlike a lot of you, I more or less dislike multiplayer games (with the exception of in real life multiplayer) and have no real desire to outdo anyone in any particular game. I simply enjoy the experience of playing through games. I have fun just beating the crap out of the bad guys, I love getting into and experiancing the story's (which is why RPG's are my favorite genre), and I love the satisfaction of having completed a game.
Also, I do believe gaming culture exists contrary to what some have said above.
From dictionary.com:
"the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture."
There are characteristics, experiences, and certain beliefs that most of us share. While there is certainly some variation (and also some sub divisions of gaming culture) there are still things that we have in common with one another.
There's a reason we're all attracted to come to Destructoid.com after all, so certainly something about the site appeals to the lot of us.